This 80’s crime/ drama series that originated on NBC, follows homicide investigators, Rick Hunter and his partner, Dee Dee Mccall as they solve crime for the L.A.P.D. Detective Hunter, played by Fred Dryer is a rough character that refers to his magnum revolver as, Simon, as in,”Simon says ‘Freeze’!” Having a tough time keeping partners, Hunter is assigned to attractive Sergeant Dee Dee Mcall or aka “the Brass Cupcake”, played by Stefanie Kramer. Early episodes took the two to crime fighting into less appealing areas of L.A. and often working under cover. Towards the last seasons the series moves to more upscale districts and a change of major key characters.
This HGTV series shows families and individuals what to look for in buying the perfect home. Every episode takes people on the personal journey from beginning to end on what the right home is to suit their needs. The show usually features three homes for the buyer to pick their favorite from. At the end of each episode the buyer shows off their new home in a room by room tour.
This SyFy reality series goes behind the scenes with the world’s largest auctioneer of movie, television, and iconic relics, Joe Maddalena. Joe and his team go from Comi con to movie star homes to track down and auction off valuable movie collectables. Each episode features various original props like the hat from the witch on Wizard of Oz, a puppet from movie Corpse Bride, the mustang used in the 80’s Nightrider series, and Robby the Robot from Hidden Planet.
In this game show contestants compete to win a giant game of tic tac toe. Not just any tic tac toe board, but giant squares where famous celebrities are seated. On each turn the host asks the contestants a question, which in turn a celebrity answers. The contestant wins that square if they agree or disagree with the celebrity. Some of the famous celebrities over the seasons included Whoppi Goldberg, Gilbert Gottfried, Martin Mull, Kathy Griffin, Joan Rivers, and Ellen Degeners.
History Detectives is a PBS show that digs into finding facts about interesting historical places and artifacts, from the Hollywood sign to Beatle’s autographs. The four hosts include Wes Cowan, an appraiser/auctioneer; Elyse Luray, appraiser/ historical art expert; Gwendolyn Wright, architect professor; Tukufu Zuberi, sociology professor; and Eduardo Pagan, history professor. Each show delves into three historical or fact finding investigations.
This award winning crime/drama series gave a realistic look at the lives of an urban city police department. The long list of cast members intertwined personal dramas as cops with the harsh realities of city crime. Episodes have everything from romantic affairs, homicide, gang crimes, drugs, and even mixing in some humorous lines. Hill Street Blues went on to set the stage for many television dramas to follow like NYPD Blues.
This fast paced police chase crime show that ran from 1955-1959, starring Broderick Crawford as Highway Patrols’ Chief, Dan Mathews. This weekly crime solving series was based around the California Highway patrol. The super hero of cops in the 1950’s Chief Mathews was known for his catch phrase of “10 -4. I’m on my way!” Most notable in the series is the sense of fashion and cars of the 1950’s.
Lots of money at stake on this no limit Texas Hold’em Poker reality show, with players competing with their own cash, sometimes in the hundreds of thousands. The first show aired in 2006, filmed at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas with host, AJ Benza and Gabe Kaplan. The show gives a behind the scenes look at playing poker with high dollars on the table. Beginning shows started out with buy-ins at $100,000, and stakes grew higher when later seasons drew buy-ins for $500,000. Some of the players featured included Sam Farha, Barry Greenstein, Doyle Brunson, Daniel Negrean, and Johnny Chan. Adding to the entertainment in season seven was former Saturday Night Live comedian, Norm Macdonald.
First airing in 1986 this series followed the Highlander movie about immortal Scotsman, Duncan Mcleod on a sword wheeling adventure in modern day. The show is based on a race of immortal beings that have been battling each other over centuries to fulfill a prophecy where there can be only one. Mcleod, who is also known as “the Highlander” conceals his identity to live among mortals, while battling for his survival against other immortals. The only way an immortal can be killed is by decapitation, and then the life force is then absorbed by the killing immortal. In a constant battle of good versus evil this show produced a total of twenty two episodes in six seasons.
Hidden Agenda from GSN, is a hidden camera game show where couples compete for prizes. In this game show, Hosted by Debi Gutierrez, couples convince their spouse to complete tasks they normally wouldn’t do. Every task the spouse completes the couple wins money, but the catch is the spouse doesn’t know they are on national television. Just for simple tasks like getting in a Snuggie together, the couple can win thousands of dollars by the end of the show.